Women who come to treatment as a result of a DUI offense

OBJECTIVE: This is a study of 8,464 adult women and 21,155 adult males who entered Texas substance abuse treatment between 2000 and 2005. They were on probation for driving under the influence (DUI), were referred to treatment by DUI probation, or had been arrested for DUI in the past year. They were compared on demographic characteristics, substance use patterns, DSM-IV diagnoses, and levels of impairment.\ud METHODS: This is a secondary analysis of an administrative dataset collected on clients in publicly funded programs in Texas. T tests and chi square tests were used to determine significance and bivariate and multivariate models were constructed. Only findings significant at .001 are presented in this abstract.\ud RESULTS: The proportion of females who were sent to treatment as a result of DUI has increased from 27% in 2000 to 32% in 2005. They were more likely than males to be white (73% vs. 56%), to have used substances a shorter period of time (17 v. 19 years), to be unemployed (75% v. 56%), and to meet the DSM criteria for drug dependence (32% v. 23%). The women were more likely to be divorced with minor children (22% v. 5%) and to have come to treatment to regain custody of their children (11% vs. 2%). Males were more likely to be alcohol dependent (49% v. 44%). Women were more likely to have injected drugs (31% v. 23%), to use substances daily (42% v. 40%), and at admission to be treated for depression or anxiety (21% v. 10%). They were less likely to complete treatment (67% v 72%). They reported significantly more days of problems on the 6 domains of the ASI at both admission and at 60-day follow-up. At follow-up, they were more likely to be living with someone who abused alcohol or used drugs (9% v.7%).\ud At discharge, 67% of the women and 72% of the men completed treatment. For women, having been in residential treatment and receiving medication for their mental health problems were the best predictors of completing treatment. At 90-day follow-up, 41% of women and 47% of men were contacted. Some 34% of the women and 39% of the men reported being abstinent in the month prior to follow-up. Those who had completed treatment were twice as likely to be abstinent and living in a household where they were exposed to alcohol abuse or drug use was the strongest predictor of not being abstinent.\ud CONCLUSIONS: Although females comprise only 29% of the DUI treatment admissions, they are more impaired and face more problems than their male counterparts. Additional resources, including treatment for co-occurring disorders, less chaotic living conditions after treatment, and more carefully targeted countermeasures, including closer supervision after treatment and use of vehicle control mechanisms, may be necessary to help these women achieve and maintain abstinence to prevent additional DUI episodes